Syracuse, NY — Jim Boeheim kept talking about how easily teams were able to score in Maui, citing the high school-sized gym as a contributing factor. California coach Mike Montgomery attributed the rising shooting percentages to the soft rims at the Lahaina Civic Center.

Whatever the rationale, Syracuse players in general and Jerami Grant in particular exploited whatever advantage awaited in Maui. Grant, the Syracuse sophomore, was shooting 44 percent (12-of-27) before arriving on the Hawaiian island. In three games in Maui, Grant made 59 percent of his shots (19-of-32).

"I came out and helped my team," Grant said after the Orange defeated Baylor to win the Maui Invitational. "I helped out. I feel like we're playing well as a team and we're coming together."

Grant made his most spectacular mark with the dunk that ESPN anointed a Top 10 worthy moment. The put-back throw-down, so potent it triggered near pandemonium on the Orange sideline, came against California in Tuesday's game.

But Grant was more than the sum of that one monstrous dunk. He made the All-Tournament team because of the 16.7 points and 5.3 rebounds he averaged over the three-day Maui stay. He sank mid-range jump shots. He lost his defender by spinning in the lane and depositing a fancy lay-up. He showed the kind of soaring athleticism and versatility that likely made the NBA scouts in attendance jot down asterisks near his name.

"Jerami had a great stretch," Boeheim said about his sophomore's performance against Baylor. The Syracuse coach could just have easily been describing Grant's entire tournament.

"This is better competition so far in this season," Grant said to explain his production. "So definitely playing against these teams we have to step up our offense."

He was more mystified about his free-throw shooting, which elevated from mediocre to sensational on the percentage scale.

Grant came to Maui a shaky 46 percent (11-for-24) from the free-throw line.
In three tournament games, he shot 92 percent (12-of-13). The entire Orange team experienced a free-throw renaissance in Maui. But Grant, who has struggled from the line in each of his two seasons at SU, was perhaps the most unlikely player for such stark improvement.

"For some reason," Grant said, "I always hit them in clutch moments."

Grant will get another chance on Tuesday, when Indiana visits the Carrier Dome for a 7:15 start in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Grant played just nine minutes last year when the teams met in the NCAA Tournament and the Orange earned a spot in the Elite Eight. He scored four points and was 2-for-2 from the free-throw line during a season in which he shot 56 percent from the stripe.